Felder: Stop City Fees on Online Credit Card Transactions

New York City Councilman Simcha Felder (D – Brooklyn) has introduced legislation that would eliminate fees on those who use a credit card to pay parking violations online. The existing law allows the City to charge New Yorkers a two dollar fee for the use of a credit card for the online payment of parking violations. “Getting a parking ticket is bad enough, the $2 surcharge makes it even worse. We should be encouraging, not penalizing New Yorkers to use the Internet. We live in NYC, not NY-Fee,” says Felder. “In 2009, when we are encouraged to pay our electric bill and manage our bank accounts online, it’s common sense that we be encouraged to pay our parking tickets online as well.”Currently, just 26% of parking violations are paid online. Felder cites several benefits of online payment over manually processed payments received by mail or in-person. These include reduced personnel costs, increased collection rates and additional interest earned by securing earlier payments.